good morning guys from beautiful Shrewsbury I'm just on my way to the railway station where today
I'm going to be taking a train from Shrewsbury over to Aberystwyth I just felt like a bit of sun
at the seaside to be honest so hopefully that will indeed happen now before we get started
on the journey guys I wanted to tell you about TrainPal the money-saving rail and bus ticketing
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for download the app start saving money and maybe I'll see you on the train one day right let's get
to the station I'll be using the TrainPal app to scan my ticket at the barrier and we'll head up
to the platform where our train will be arriving to take me over to Aberystwyth see you in a bit
Right then guys so I made my way over to Shrewsbury Railway Station, TrainPal app
at the ready and headed for the barriers. As you can see here, it’s really easy to use.
You just bring up the electronic ticket with the qr code, place it face down on the glass
and a second-or-two later you’ll get a victory beep and the barriers will open. Simple as that.
I made my way up the stairs and headed for platform 5. I was a little bit early and for
a minute I thought we’d be getting this class 153 which
would certainly be unusual. But before long, the expected class 158 arrived,
158828 a two car diesel multiple unit which would be taking us all the way over to Aberystwyth.
I made my way onboard and through the double doors leading to the seats.
Note the member of staff here cleaning the train which is good to see. I chose a
table seat near the front of the train, First impressions bright and tidy - a good start.
Right guys on the 10:29 from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth a class 158
pretty nice actually it's clean and it's quiet as well
the weather's not too bad cloudy with blue skies I would say I am expecting a nice little run now
over to Aber and yeah let's hope that there's a bit of blue sky on the coast I'll see you in a bit
yeah well looking at the skies now I would forecast the weather as 'Anything could happen'
to be honest we left the bay platform on time heading out to the west of the famous signal
box at the south of the station I'm not going to show you it this time as it features on many
other videos but instead just focus on the houses behind the trees here which up until
2007 was the site of Shrewsbury Town Football club's iconic gay Meadow ground now sadly they
moved to a non-descript, identikit ‘stadium’ on the outskirts of town but it’s a money
and survival thing isn't it for most clubs these days so I guess ‘needs must’ and all that.
Anyway, after passing 97302 at Network Rail’s Coleham Depot on our right,
we arrive at Sutton Bridge Junction where we leave
the Welsh Marches Line and head out onto the single track Cambrian Line proper.
Before long, we had an onboard ticket inspection and, yep, you’ve guessed it,
I was able to use my TrainPal e-ticket once again to validate my journey.
Am I ok to use the
TrainPal app? That's fine yeh yeh that's good yeah cheers mate. Thank you very much, cheers mate.
okay so yeah we left on time just heading across to Welshpool now over the border from England into
Wales a question I've got is there going to be a catering trolley on this train I don't know
um I guess we'll find out in a little while but yeah enjoy some of the views and see you in a bit
Welshpool railway station a shadow of its former self sadly the introduction of the
Welshpool bypass road in 1993 meant that the whole line had to be shifted south and so as
we leave the somewhat isolated platforms here you will see the original station
building across the road which ironically is now closer to the old platforms than the
line is at least they kept the building I suppose so it could have been worse
So, still pretty quiet on board. The 2:2 configuration is made up of airline-style
and table seating. The seats themselves are pretty comfortable I think with good padded
headrests and a retractable arm rest between the seats and on their sides.
The seat back is firm and the lower seat area more padded. Comfortable enough for this journey time
of approximately two hours and longer journeys than that I would say. The table between the seats
is wide enough for four people and to the side you have double USB and conventional power sockets.
There’s plenty of leg room under the table. I did try the airline-style seats as well where leg room
is more restricted. Still ok for me but given the choice I’d choose the table seating every time.
You have drop down seat back tables at these seats with extendable laptop holder
type things which are fine but again, get a table seat if you can I would say.
Near the vestibules at either end you have luggage storage and there
is ample rack storage above the seats on both sides of the carriage. And finally,
at the far end of this carriage, there is space for at least two wheelchair users
just arrived in Newtown and here comes the rain unfortunately
but I think it could change so it depends really what what we're hoping to get what we get
um yeah occasional showers
but hopefully not all the time we'll see how it develops I guess
Rainy Machynlleth opened in 1863 and this is where the previous operator of the line Arriva
Trains Wales developed the station into the main depot for trains providing services not
just to Aberystwyth but also Pwhelli to the north. Since 2011, a new signalling
system has been in place for the Cambrian line which is controlled from Machynlleth.
I won’t even begin to attempt an explanation here on how it works but I’m sure some of you
may want to provide some expert information in the comments below and that would be most appreciated.
It’s a nice station though and I’m pretty sure that, when a four car set is used,
the front two will go off to Aber and the rear two to Pwhelli or vice versa. Not today though,
we’re heading for remote Dovey Junction
Before we get there though, just enough time to check out one of the toilets on this train,
the closest one to me and we have a large mirror beneath which is
the sink and the water, liquid soap and air dryer facilities.
There was also baby changing facilities available - nice and clean but sadly the hunt continues.
Plenty of toilet tissue available, everything was clean and worked. You cannot ask for more
than that - absolutely fine and to be honest one of the best I’ve seen.
Right so along the Dyfi estuary, and this area is home to the Dyfi Wildlife Centre which,
amongst other things, aims to help the recovery of the Welsh Osprey population. I’m not sure
how many they have though I don’t think I saw any today. Plenty of Red Kites flying around though.
We approached Dovey Junction and were held outside the station for around five minutes as we awaited
first the train from Pwhelli and then the train from Aberystwyth. I was trying to figure all this
out but I presumed that anybody travelling from Pwhelli or the north down to Aber or
back to Shrewsbury and beyond to Birmingham for example they got off here and either got on the
train from Aber that was going to Machynlleth the one we’re just passing here or they'd get
onto our train going to Aber that pulled into the same platform a little further down if you
get what I mean. I guess it’s not that complicated really but it did get quite busy after that point.
I tried out the WIFI which was a bit patchy to begin with but then settled down and was
pretty good after that, loading up social media quite quickly and also,
just a small point but when you connect it gives you live train
information so you know exactly where you are and whether you’re on time or not.
okay so just past Dovey Junction getting pretty close to the sea
now nice shots of the Estuary there behind me and the weather's brightening up again
no sign of the catering trolley unfortunately but that's fine
because we'll be in Aber before long so I'll get some lunch there yeah overall
um an enjoyable trip so far so I'll speak to you again when we get to the terminus at Aberystwyth.
Yep, the weather was pretty good now. Between here and Aberystwyth we would call at Borth and
then the recently opened Bow Street (which is effectively a park and ride station).
Price I paid for today’s trip was £23.56 because I wasn’t really sure
when I’d be going or coming back, I got an adult, anytime day return. You can
get it cheaper if you book in advance and specify which train you’re travelling on.
And what do you think of Borth? I’ve got to be honest like the
baby on this train I’m not a huge fan. But, if you’ve ever been,
I’d love to hear your views and memories (good or bad) in the comments below
And coming into the terminus at Aberystwyth I guess it’s less glamorous than it once was. A lot
of the old railway buildings have been re-purposed and there’s like a retail park to the left.
But the 80-mile journey itself was quite scenic in parts and, as I disembarked the train (against
the flow of traffic) I walked up the platform a bit and just took a minute to sum up the trip.
Right guys I was
a bit late getting off the train there, everybody started getting on yeah Aberystwyth I tell you
what that journey I could not fault it the train was really clean and in really good condition
inside the views were fantastic the weather wasn't bad either a little bit of rain but overall
um yeah a great little trip and yeah I'm gonna wander into Aberystwyth town centre in a bit
and have a look around there and I've got a couple of ideas actually for another video
I might want to take in the meantime guys don't forget download the TrainPal app you can use my
code LETS34 to get 34% off any UK railcard you want thank you very much for watching
I will see you on another adventure soon and as always guys cheers for now